Worthwhile
by BloodyGlaiveDragon
Summary: Roxas is tired of being Seifer's punching bag, but is afraid of the consequences if he decides to fight back. Luckily, a new neighbor moves in, and shows Roxas that it's okay to stand up for himself. Full summary inside. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1: New Neighbor

**Summary: **Roxas used to be bullied when he was little by Seifer, but that was before Roxas moved away. Then his dad passed away, and he returned to Twilight Town, only to bump fists with Seifer again. But this time, he can hold his own… He just doesn't have the heart to fight because he is afraid that he'll get in trouble. A slightly arrogant kid Roxas' age moves in next door, and shows him that it's okay to not take Seifer's crap anymore. Maybe, just maybe, everything will turn out to be worthwhile.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or it's characters. I do, however, own the plot.

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**Chapter One: New Neighbor**

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Smack

A seventeen year old boy clutched his right cheek. His blonde naturally spiky hair was even messier than it usually was. The gaze of his bright blue eyes were directed at the ground, glasses broken on the grass beside him.

"That'll teach you not to disobey me… I only tolerate you because of your brothers and Riku. Now don't think that you can go run off and tell someone that I bully you. Not that it would matter anyway, who would believe you? As far as anyone is concerned, we're on friendly terms. And, you don't have the guts to go for help. You're too stubborn for that." The speaker tugged at his beanie a little bit, and grinned maliciously. "Speaking of guts…" He kicked the boy in the stomach and then walked away.

"The boy on the ground grimaced, and let out a pained gasp. Sure, his stomach now hurt, but it wasn't as painful as some of the other blows he had received.

He sighed. He would have to buy a new pair of glasses. The glasses he could handle, saying that he had fallen and was too late to save the glasses. It wasn't like he really needed them anyway; they were only for show. The boy just wanted to be less noticeable. Nobody knew that he could see perfectly fine without them, not even his brothers.

His brothers. The blonde grimaced again. Now that was a thought that he didn't want to dwell too much on. He already knew what the outcome would be. His twin, Sora, would fuss too much. Cloud, his older brother, would only look at him and not ask questions. It was one of the many reasons why he liked his older brother better. Cloud seemed to understand things better than his hyper twin.

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[Roxas' POV]

Great. I already knew when I transferred to this school last year that Seifer despised me right from the beginning. Quite frankly, the feeling is mutual. I just never expected him to hit me in the face. He was usually more of a hit-where-nobody-can-see type of guy.

Sure, we always smiled at each other when other people were around, but of course those gestures were fake. Merely a façade. Nobody would have guessed that Seifer and I had known each other since elementary school. Sora knew, but he didn't know what exactly our relationship was.

Back then, things were easier; easier to handle. Seifer was actually bearable. He still bullied me, but I moved away before he could start the hitting phase.

Why did I move away? Dad and mom got a divorce. Sora and Cloud got to go with mom, but I had to go with dad. Now why did I come back? Dad died last year, and then a few weeks later, Cloud, who I had not seen or talked to in years, suddenly called saying that our mother had died six months prior to father's death. He would have contacted me sooner, but mom had hidden all ways to contact us. Sora found my number and address by accident when they were cleaning mom's bedroom.

Cloud, being twenty-two years old at the time, was more than happy to become my guardian. Being the genius he is, he was able to speed through high school and college. By the age of twenty-one he already had a steady job that paid him more than enough, so he had the money to keep a roof over his and his brothers' heads. I'm grateful that Cloud took me in, because I have no idea where I would be without my brothers right now.

I rolled onto my back and groaned. Shit. Why do I even put up with Seifer, anyway? I could easily kick his stupid ass. Ever since I moved away from Twilight Town when I was little, dad had enrolled me into karate, tae kwon do, and judo; all of which I had mastered. I think it was supposed to be a distraction for me so I wouldn't fret over being away from my mom and brothers.

Me being the short and skinny guy I am, had been a regular target for bullying. Fights found me all throughout middle school and up until part of my sophomore year of high school. But when dad died, I decided to stop getting into trouble. It didn't mean that I stopped practicing martial arts. In fact, I usually practice an hour every day when I first wake up.

"Nn…" I moaned. I closed my eyes and scrunched my eyebrows. Damn it fucking hurts like hell. You'd think my body would get used to being beat up, but Seifer packs quite the kick and punch.

"Oh my god! Roxas? What happened to you?" came a worried voice.

I opened my eyes and met the gaze of familiar blue eyes. Sora. Struggling not to gasp in pain, I pulled myself up into a sitting position. "Hello Sora."

My twin looked at me with wide eyes. "You have a huge bruise on your face, and all you have to say is 'Hello Sora'?"

"Pretty much. It isn't a big deal. Look, can we just go home? I don't want to talk about it." I frowned up at my him.

Blue eyes narrowed slightly at me. "Fine," snapped Sora.

He yanked me to my feet and dragged me to my car. When we got to my carbon black V12 Vantage Aston Martin sports car, he got into the drivers seat. Hey what can I say, I like cars, and I'm damn proud of this one. Cloud bought it for me when I turned 17 two months ago.

Don't worry, Seifer would never touch my car. If there's one thing he has respect for, it's a good vehicle.

Wait when the hell did Sora get a hold of my keys? Oh whatever.

I got into the passenger seat and Sora sped off to our large two-story house. When we pulled into our driveway, we noticed a moving van next door.

My eyebrows rose. "Wow, I didn't know people were moving in."

"I didn't either. Holy crap, check out that guy! He's sexy!" exclaimed my twin. I rolled my eyes.

"If Riku heard you say that, he'd throw a fit. Besides, he can't be that hot," I smirked. Sora grabbed my head and turned it to supposed sexy guy's direction. My jaw dropped slightly.

The guy had a tall, lean body, but you could still see the lightly defined muscles though his tight black shirt. The new neighbor had tall, wild red spikes for hair, which was bright against his pale skin. I couldn't tell what color his eyes were from where I was standing, but I thought I felt them flicker in my direction.

I must have imagined it.

Now it was Sora's turn to smirk. "See? Told ya. A walking sex god. I bet anyone would want to jump his bones. Even you."

A walking sex god indeed. "Okay, I really did not need to hear that." My face heated up a bit. "And I would not jump his bones!"

Sora clucked his tongue at me. "You never know. He looks like he's around our age. Maybe he swings our way too. Come on, let's get some ice on those wounds, before Cloud comes home and throws a hissy fit." He then turned and ran up the driveway to the front door of our house and let himself in.

Oh yeah, did I mention that my brother's and I are all gay?

With one last look at the house next to ours, I locked my car and ran off after Sora.

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Haha, this is my first attempt at a KH fan fiction xD Hopefully it isn't starting off too horribly.

_**Please review, and no flames~! [;**_

_**[1/20-21/11]**_


	2. Chapter 2: Thine Eyes

Let me clear something up before you start reading. Roxas is two weeks into his senior year of high school. And I know I said he got into fights up until his freshman year, but I meant until his sophomore year. He moved in with his brothers at the start of his junior year. And I also said that Seifer only 'tolerated' him because he hung out with 'Hayner and others', but I don't want them appearing in the story yet, so I'm editing that part out. Just thought that you guys would like to know that.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KH or it's characters. I only own the plot.

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Chapter Two: Thine Eyes

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Roxas rubbed at his eyes as he stared blearily at the digital clock on his desk. 6:39AM. Sighing, he forced himself to get out of bed to go take a shower.

When he went back into his room, a towel wrapped around his waist, he found that a set of clothes was already laid out for him on his bed. Courtesy of Sora, of course. It couldn't have been Cloud, since he was already at work.

Now Roxas was suspicious. It was rare for his brother to pick out an outfit for him, and when he did, it was usually used as a please-don't-kill-me gesture. Cocking an eyebrow, Roxas wondered what his brother could have possibly done.

After he got dressed, he shoved open the curtains and yanked up the blinds on his window, letting the soft glow of morning light flow into his bedroom. He then flitted around his room, throwing school materials into his black and red checkered backpack.

At some point, Roxas felt like there was someone watching him, but every time he turned around, the feeling was gone. He shrugged to himself, letting the strange thought escape his mind for the time being.

Looking at his digital clock, Roxas let out a string of curses, seeing the bright red 7:05. Hurriedly pulling on his shoes, he hopped down the stairs into the kitchen, where Sora was serenely munching on a plate of pancakes.

Roxas stared at his brother -who was sitting in nothing but a shirt and Captain Underpants boxers- with a blank expression. "Why aren't you dressed? We're going to be late."

Sora stared at his brother in confusion before realization dawned over him. He started to giggle. "We won't be late, Rox."

"Why?"

"Rox… It's Saturday."

"…" Roxas let out a relieved sigh. He was glad. That meant that he would have a whole two days to himself before he would have to face Seifer again.

About to open the fridge to get out ingredients for an omelet, he paused. What had he forgot? Oh, right. "Sora…?" Roxas turned to stare at his brother, smirking a little as he froze in his chair. "You almost never choose clothes for me, and you know I can dress myself. So, what's the damage?"

Sora ran a hand through his spiky brown locks as he swallowed thickly. "T-there's no damage…" He trailed off weakly.

The blonde twin gazed at his brother skeptically. "Oh? Then you wouldn't mind telling me if you didn't do anything wrong."

Sora grimaced, but gave a defeated sigh. "Alright, but I really didn't do anything wrong. Cloud made me promise that we would go greet the new neighbors. The older brother lived in Twilight Town up until a year ago. Remember him? Reno Sinclair. He went to high school and college with Cloud. Y'know, the fast track program." At those words, Roxas merely nodded. He remembered the name, but hardly anything else came to mind. Just a lot of red. Not that he remembered much when he first moved in with his brothers. He had still been grief-stricken then.

Roxas fixed himself his omelet while Sora devoured his second plate of pancakes. He would have eaten pancakes himself, but he was pretty sure that Sora was the one that made them. Sora's cooking was a bit… strange to the taste buds, usually ending with horrible stomachaches for people who ate the food besides the cook himself. Roxas shuddered just thinking about it.

"I know you don't like meeting new people, but Reno has a younger brother in our grade. It's the guy that we saw yesterday. Cloud said Reno moved back here so that his brother would have a change of environment. Apparently things haven't been so great for his younger bro back in Hollow Bastion. It was the reason Reno moved there in the first place," Sora explained.

Two pairs of blue eyes exchanged glances, seeing as Roxas had moved from Hollow Bastion himself. "Hmm… Maybe it was school related. Hollow Bastion residents aren't as welcoming and open-minded as the people here. A great big chunk of them are downright unpleasant…" Roxas trailed off, knowing that Sora would take his word for it.

The brunette frowned. "What do you mean by open-minded?" His head tilted to the side, clearly thinking what could possibly be so bad about the opinions of people from Hollow Bastion.

The blonde twin sighed. "Let's say that someone is gay… there are bound to be people that are homophobes, right?" Sora reluctantly nodded. "There are people here in Twilight Town like that as well, and they bully the homosexuals. You've heard about stuff like that, right?"

Sora nodded again. "Yeah, Riku mentioned something like that before. They're just rumors though. If anyone has seen anything, they keep quiet about it."

"Mhmm… Close your eyes, Sora." Sora closed his eyes, a frown tugging at his lips. "Now imagine being bullied and beat up in the open, where everyone at school can see, but barely anyone actually does anything about it." Sora opened his eyes, his expression horrified. "That's what it's like at Hollow Bastion."

Tears formed in Sora's big blue eyes. "Do… Do you think that that's what happened with Reno's brother?"

Roxas let out a shaky breath. "It's a possibility. God, I hope I'm completely off." He glanced at his brother, who was trying to calm down. "Sora, why don't you go take a shower, and then we'll go over and say hello to the neighbors." The brunette nodded frantically, then jumped up to run upstairs, leaving his twin to eat his breakfast.

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[Axel]

I was lying on my bed, blasting Simple Plan through my computer speakers, when my brother Reno decided to burst in. He looked at me surprised. "Oh, I wasn't expecting you to be up so early."

"What, were you hoping that you would be able to yell in my ear so that I would fall out of bed? Not happening." I gazed at him with contempt.

Reno shifted uncomfortably, grinning sheepishly. "Aw, c'mon… You aren't still mad about that, are you? I haven't done that in awhile."

"Only because you started using a cup of ice cold water, which would explain the cup you're holding behind your back." At those words, Reno's hands made a weird motion, and then I heard a dull thud and a splash. Raising an eyebrow at Reno, I said, "I'm not cleaning that."

"Ah well, whatever. Anyway, I'm glad you're dressed. Remember the guy that I went to school with that I told you about?" Reno asked.

My eyebrows furrowed. What was the name, again? It had something to do with weather. "Cloud, right? Blonde, sexy, lives next door?"

Reno grinned as he tied back his red hair. "Oh good, you remember! Well, his little brother's are coming over in a bit, so I just wanted to warn you. They're twins, and just started their senior year as well. I mentioned this last night."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember."

"Ha, you brat. Anyway, one of the twins didn't start living with them until last year. The blonde one. I don't remember his name though. But if I remember correctly, he moved here from Hollow Bastion as well. I met him a few times last year, but he had all of these walls up around him, y'know?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Hollow Bastion does that to a person," I said bitterly.

"I'm a little worried about him, though. There was a lot of tension in Cloud's house back then. The kid would come home wincing with pain, but whenever Cloud asked him what was wrong, he would shut himself down. It was horrible."

"Maybe he was being bullied," I suggested.

"Maybe… But Cloud told me that their father had enrolled him in martial arts, and he was damn good at it, so it's not like he can't hold his own. But man, you should've seen him when he first arrived. It was like someone had taken his heart and soul away from him. Kinda like…" Reno winced.

"Kinda like when you first came to Hollow Bastion to look after me?" I finished for him. "It's okay, Reno. You can talk about it, you know. It's not like it's the end of the world."

He smiled crookedly. "Yeah, sorry." Just then, the doorbell rang downstairs. "Ah! They're here already. I guess we were talking longer than I thought."

"Yeah, yeah, let's go greet the friendly people," I said sarcastically.

Reno eyed me with amusement. "Well, the blonde one could have changed you know. But Sora is a bubble of fucking sunshine no matter what." He led the way downstairs. "And did you really have to insist on wearing the rainbow skinny jeans with a Barney shirt?"

I grinned at him. "Hey, these pants are my favorite. And the shirt is a joke. If they can't handle my peculiarity, then they aren't worth my time."

That statement caused Reno to look at me with shock. "Are you going to tell them that you're gay already?"

We had reached the front hallway by now. Shrugging, I replied, "Might as well bring it out into the open early on. If they're homophobes, then piss on them."

I couldn't see my older brother's expression, but he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'far from it', as he opened the door.

"Hey Sora!" he exclaimed. "This must be your brother, right? Do you remember me?" The kid must have nodded, because Reno went on to say, "That's great! Why don't you two come on in and meet my brother." He then turned to me. "Yo, bring them into the living room while I get some lemonade from the kitchen." He moved to the side and disappeared down the hallway into the kitchen, leaving the twins to stare at me.

"What? Take a picture, it lasts longer," I snapped.

The blonde simply continued to stare at me with a blank expression, though I didn't detect any disgust, but an innocent curiosity. The brunette however, was all smiles. I barely glanced at them, but it didn't seem like they were frightened or disgusted by me.

"Hey! I love your pants, man! I wish I had a pair of those. And that shirt is interesting. I was never a Barney person myself, but whatever." The brunette opened his mouth to say more, but his twin elbowed him in the side and shot him a I-can't-believe-you look. "Oh crap! That's right… I'm Sora Strife! And this is- OW!"

"Roxas," the blonde said.

What? "Um… what?" I asked, confused.

"Roxas. My name."

"Ah. Interesting name," I smirked. "I'm Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" Roxas snorted, while Sora giggled. I lead them into the living room, gesturing for them to sit on the couch, while I sat in an armchair.

I now allowed myself to look down at the twins properly -they fell a bit short to my six feet-. When my gaze met Roxas', I almost stepped back in shock. The boy was beautiful, and had a nice body. He wore black skinny jeans, a Linkin Park band shirt, and black vans. On his left hand were two rings, and a black and white checkered wristband. His blonde hair was stuck up in all directions, like a weird fohawk, but in a sexy way.

But his eyes were what made my heart beat faster. They were a shocking bright cerulean blue, that seemed to stare right into my soul, but they were also devoid of emotion, like he was trying to hide his true feelings. I felt a stab in my chest as our gazes held, which was odd.

Tearing my gaze from his, I looked at Sora. Holy crap. Reno was right about this kid. He really is a bubble of fucking sunshine. His aura just screams happiness. Sora's hair was a bit messy like Roxas', but the spikes were more controlled. And his eyes. They were the same shade of blue as his brother, but they twinkled with a mirth that Roxas' lacked.

Just then, Reno bounced back into the room, a tray of glasses in one hand, and a pitcher of lemonade in the other. "Yo, I hope you guys are thirsty. So I see that Axel here hasn't scared the two of you off."

I smirked at him. "Now why would I do that? They didn't cringe when they saw the Barney shirt and rainbow pants, so they're obviously worth my time."

Yes, they _are_ worth my time. Especially the blonde. I don't know what it is about him, but I feel a strange pull towards him that makes my chest ache. Hell, I'm actually looking forward to what this year has in store for me. Hopefully this place won't turn out like the last hellhole.

Sneaking a glance at the blonde in my living room, I smiled sadly to myself.

God, I hope not.

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Please review, and no flames~! [;

**[1/23/10]**


	3. Chapter 3

Blue eyes opened to stare at the ceiling above him for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that night. He turned over onto his stomach and groaned into his pillow, frustrated. It was only fair that Roxas would be upset. He had been tossing and turning in his sheets for _hours_ after all. In fact, as he lifted his head to glare at his digital clock, he found that it wasn't even night anymore. The bright 4:38AM blared mockingly at him.

'_Great_,' he thought. '_Another night without sleep_.' He rolled back onto his back. '_And that means I have to see _him_ today_,' he groaned inwardly. His blonde brows furrowed as he thought back to Saturday morning. The redheads next door had been surprisingly fun to hang out with. Roxas had actually _enjoyed_ himself; something that did not happen often… with strangers anyway. Reno had kept them all thoroughly entertained, and was easy to relax around despite his flirty nature. And then there was his brother…

Axel. Now he was all kinds of interesting. He was opinionated and somewhat cocky, but otherwise seemed to be a good person. And hot damn the teen just _oozed_ sex appeal, and walked with a confidence that Roxas was slightly envious of. And the redhead was very obviously an open gay; and damn proud of it. Not to mention he was painstakingly handsome. And the eyes; eyes that hadn't let Roxas sleep ever since he and Sora had gone home. They expressed an abundance of mischievousness with overwhelming sadness beneath the surface. Those eyes haunted Roxas' dreams and made him feel like he was drowning.

'_I need to stop thinking about him. I need to get ready for school._' Roxas groaned exasperatedly and began to get himself ready for school.

God he hated Mondays. Mondays were despicable. It was the absolute worst day of the week. Nothing good ever happened on a Monday.

Too bad it happened to be a Monday.

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He hadn't been in the school for more than five minutes, and already there were people staring and whispering. Axel sighed as he looked around for his first period class: Pre-Calculus. At the rate he was going, he would definitely be late. It certainly did not help that he had slept through his alarm clock. By the time he had drove into the parking lot and got out of his car, the warning bell had already rung. He didn't even have time to look for his locker.

"Look at his hair," said one person.

"His clothing screams homosexual," commented another.

"Woah, he's hot," breathed a girl.

Axel rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. Didn't these people have classes to go to? Why stand around talking about him? He resisted the urge to groan, and instead continued to search for his classroom. Where in the world was room 215 when he needed it? He came to a stop. "Finally," he muttered. The redhead stepped through the doorway and into the classroom.

A man with tan skin and silver hair acknowledged him with a raised eyebrow. "You must be the new student," he said, his tone cold.

"Yes," said Axel. '_Damn, iceberg much_?'

"I am Xemnas. Introduce yourself and sit down."

The redhead hesitated, but did as he was told. "Name's Axel." He quickly scanned the room for an empty seat and sighed with relief when he saw a nearly empty table at the back of the class. He made his way over to one of the empty chairs and dumped his backpack on the floor, ignoring the stares that were fixated on him.

As the class wore on, so did Axel's boredom. Xemnas' voice was deep and pleasing to listen to, but the class had nothing to do except copy notes off of the whiteboard. After copying the notes, Axel decided to take the opportunity to scan his surroundings. His classmates were no longer staring at him, and the teacher was working on what looked suspiciously like a crossword puzzle at his desk. Needless to say, nothing in the classroom held the redhead's interest for long.

When he was about to sigh out of boredom, someone else beat him to it. Axel's head shot to his left, eyes landing on the only other person sitting at the table. Blue eyes stared back at him, hiding behind a pair of unflattering glasses. The kid's blonde hair stuck out at odd angles, like the locks were on a personal mission to defy gravity. Wait a minute, hadn't he seen hair like that before? Axel's brows furrowed, before asking, "Have we met?"

The blonde snickered quietly. "Axel, how rude of you to forget me," he said.

Axel frowned. He was absolutely certain that he had heard that voice before. "Roxas?"

"It's great to know that your intelligence hasn't dwindled out of sheer boredom," the blonde remarked.

Axel frowned again. "Why are you wearing glasses? You didn't have those the other day."

The blonde fidgeted uncomfortably under the suspicious stare that Axel fixed on him. "Contacts," he hastily replied.

"…Right." Green eyes scrutinized his classmate for a moment longer before looking away. "Man, this class sucks. There is abso-freaking-lutely nothing to do."

A blonde eyebrow rose in amusement. "Well, we shouldn't be in here for much longer." As soon as the last word parted from his mouth, the bell rang.

"Good timing, Roxy. Think you could show me to room 412?"

"… Never call me that again. And yeah, I'll show you. Get off your ass and follow me. You do not want to be late for Larxene's art class, especially when you have the two-hour one."

"Yes, Roxy!"

"…"

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The rest of Axel's school day was pretty much uneventful, but his teachers were pretty interesting. Larxene, the art teacher, was a short-tempered blonde with a wicked sense of humor. Marluxia was a pink haired male that taught Web Design. The English teacher, Luxord, was from England and had a lazy attitude and a card addiction. The latter kept Axel pretty entertained with his accent, so that was a plus. Another plus was that a certain blonde had been in that class; not to mention every other class.

Now that Axel and Roxas both had free time where their sixth period class should have been (had they chosen to take one), they parted ways. The blonde had left for the art classroom again, leaving Axel to get better acquainted with the school campus.

When he came across the library he walked in and immediately became enamored with the two-story building. Ms. Lockhart, the librarian, gave him a tour of the building, Axel following behind her like a kid in a chocolate factory.


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